Sunday, November 21, 2010

Vegan Mofo: Salad Doesn't Have to Be Boring!

I know some vegan cookbooks steer away from "salad sections" because many vegans want to get away from the myth that we only eat lettuce and carrots all the time. And I get that. But lettuce and carrots are yummy, and good for you!

My book will have a combined "salad & sandwich" section since I view both as super lunch-y foods. In real life, I generally make big ole everything salads with no recipe to speak of. I just throw whatever salad-y stuff I have into a bowl and toss with a convenient bottled dressing. But my book will have some real recipes that include homemade dressings and carefully-paired salad ingredients, like in this Seitan & Red Pear Salad:

It uses the Seitan Chicken from another recipe in the book, red pears, green onions, walnuts, and my homemade white pear vinaigrette. It seems a little fancy for country cookin' book, but even the most downhome cook likes to make gourmet stuff sometimes.What's your favorite salad combination?

In a few days, I am posting a couple of salads from an old cookbook. The one we had last night was really good: shredded cabbage, chopped apples, chopped black olives, french dressing, all on a lettuce leaf, garnished with black olives stuffed with soy cream cheeze!

That does looks good - I like fruits and nuts in salads. But my favorite is black beans, corn, ranch, and tortilla chips. With tomatoes and carrots when I have them. And bell peppers. Glad to see you're not shying away from real lunch foods!

This combination sounds awesome! I usually start with greens, add some fruit (strawberries or apples are favorites), then some walnuts or chickpeas and cover it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I need to try this, I love pears.